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Sideshows And Street Racing

Deadly Games.

Let’s all take a moment to express our appreciation for the incredible thespian, Vin Diesel. Not only has he brought us Hollywood gems like xXx and The Chronicles of Riddick, he also inspired countless car enthusiasts — I mean wannabes — to drop hundreds of thousands of dollars on their 1980 Chevy Malibu with 22s, all due to the Magnum Opus called the Fast and the Furious film franchise. Thanks a lot, Vin. I can honestly say — for a number of reasons — you shouldn’t have; please stop now!

One of the reasons is the promulgation of street racers and the inherent issues they represent to law enforcement. Another is the sheer volume of douche-baggery this activity seems to attract. But I digress.

Aside from the obvious risks of serious injuries or fatalities to participants and the general public, there tends to be a number of dangerous (criminal) activities associated with street racing and sideshows. The city of Oakland, Calif. (among others) passed a city ordinance a number of years ago, declaring them a public nuisance. Criminal activity related to street racing ranges from property crimes (vandalism, stolen vehicles and parts), to gun violence, robberies and sexual assaults.
By Jason Hoschouer

I have to say that I am personally offended by this article. I work within the firearm industry and occasionally read this magazine. Usually there is good information and interesting articles. This article about street racing I find displays law enforcement in the vary way that they don’t want to be seen. This makes cops look like jerks that are just looking for a reason to profile you and put you in a small box of the population. Not only does this article seem like it was written by someone who knows nothing about cars, but detests the very notion of modifying a car.

Not every “street racer” is really racing. Not everyone with gauges in their car is breaking the law. Vin Diesel had nothing to do with how modifying cars started. Granted the release of these movies have proved to create a few bad apples in the bunch of young kids you do stupid things. But isn’t there “bad apples” in every group?

I find this article so condescending. My husband and I are a very involved in our local car scene. We both have cars that are heavily modified. Per the author this would include “noisy exhaust” “nitrous oxide systems”,and “stickers” indicating parts on our cars. The author also boasts that we “want to show you our illegal parts”. Wise up- not every car person is a criminal. We are proud of what we have built. And I’m not dumb enough to put something illegal on my car and then try to show a cop.

I can’t believe that American Cop Magazine allowed this article to be published as that it makes law enforcement look bad to the general public.